As Glas Istre/Novi List writes on the 9th of February, 2020, meet the latest creation from the gastro workshop of King’s Cafe from Rijeka – Monada.
Monada is described as a real refreshing drink for girls and young men, as the slogan of this, otherwise the very first Croatian ”craft cola” goes. This is the first refreshing drink after Rijeka’s legendary Ler and the new King’s Cafe brand, which gave birth to Monada but then gave it an independent life all of its own.
”Monada is a craft cola because we played with it a bit so that it doesn’t follow the standard rounds of cola on the Croatian market. The taste of Monada is smooth and pleasant. It’s a lounge drink for teetotallers. You can chill out with it, not just gulp it down like cola,” explains Tomislav Juretic, the new Croatian drink’s creative guru, who designed this refreshing drink along with Vedran Jakominic and Igor Matetic.
In the production of this drink, some ingredients are used that don’t go into the its standard counterparts, such as hops instead of phosphoric acid, which gives it a special aroma. The hops are credited for Monada’s smooth taste, and it’s also a link to the beer side of the King’s Cafe story.
”Monada is as natural as it can be. It doesn’t have that element of a standard industrial cola that removes sediment and even cleans toilets, and it doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners or colours. All of the production material comes from the Rijeka area, including the limes and oranges from Rijeka’s market and ice from Rijeka’s petrol stations,” Juretic jokes.
So far, the new Rijeka drink is only available as highly experimental samples, but it will soon be able to be tasted by the general public. The first public tasting was organised on the night of Rijeka’s European Capital of Culture opening. The initial reactions were more than positive.
”People were very pleased. In the meantime, we’ve devised a special way of serving Monada so that everyone can enjoy its taste in the right way. It will be served in a round glass, full of ice, with a slice of orange and lime, and with dried blueberries and cardamom. By doing that, the drink is presented in the right way.
It’s a drink that is not to be drunk in a hurry, but should be enjoyed slowly so that all the flavours are combined and felt in the right way. Since this is a craft drink, I think it’s okay to consume it that way. The Croatian craft scene of alcoholic beverages has been developing a lot lately, and we decided to create a craft with Monada that people who don’t drink alcohol can enjoy,” explains Juretic.
However the ”sober” population of the country responds to Croatia’s very first craft cola, and the first tasters have responded really well, several alcoholic cocktails with Monada have already been designed. Each cocktail bears an interesting name, which evokes various associations with the taste of these drinks.
”It goes well with Pelin (wormwood), so we decided to call it Sette Bandiere. Monada brings the best out of the Pelin, which is then a wonderful drink. Fiume Libera, in turn, is the name of a combination of Monada and cynara, while ginger mixed with Monada is called Skribanda. Black Adder, or Black Goose, is a combination of King’s Stout and Monada. The first tasters say it’s great,” added Vedran Jakominic.
”Our idea is to encourage positivity. As Red Bull sponsors extreme sports, Monada will encourage all those events where ordinary people come out of their shells,” Vedran Jakominic concluded.
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